DIY: Liberty Floral Daze Cardigan by J. Crew

The J.Crew version.


Liberty of London for Target® Pleated Chemise - Grand Royal & Sixty Print. Was $17.99, now on sale for $12.99 if you can find one. I purchased a XL. They must be junior sized because the elastic banding fit me snugly. The bottom portion I used for my DIY project.



Merona® Women's Classic Cardigan Sweater - White $19.99. Nothing special.



Waiting...waiting...waiting
I've been delaying this project for way to long! Mistake!

First I started by 'aging' the cardi...
Lots of hot water and coffee packs in the filter, at least 2 gallons for an xs. Give it room to swim! Wet the cardi before aging. I think it's ok to check every 30 seconds, but I checked every 10 seconds. And of course it will dry lighter, and it did. Lay flat to dry, then into the dryer with a bunch of like colored towels.


...Then harvesting my fabric
It worked out to just cut it off. I already knew I had enough fabric. Because the original chemise was pleated, it needed to be ironed out before cutting.


Fitting the muslin...
This was a bit tricky because I wasn't going to cut the cardi so it would lay flay, so I cut the muslin on my form, giving about 1/2 inch seam allowance. First, I started shaping with a vertical bodice dart, but I thought that would alter the floral print to much. So I went a horizontalish bust dart. That worked.


Sewing on...
The neckline and center front parts as well as the bottom edge went along quite smoothly. Shoulder & side seams gave me a minor bit of grief because the actual cardigan seams were bulky. Dealing with this bump was annoying, but I guess if you shop or thrift for a high quality cardigan you may not run into this issue. Oh, and does the zipper foot help!!


Stitches...
Center front edge & bottom edge...sewn down & pressed back
Neckline & side seams... Topstitched on





I'm really happy with the results! So happy that I'll be wearing it today! Totally worth it! Of course I'm saving my pattern and thinking of a fall redo. Yea! I'll save the details for later. I REALLY love it. At first I thought the print was cheesy retro, but it kept growing on me. BTW, the coloring is slightly deeper in most photos, my flash was working overtime! The sewing neckline photo is color true. My cardi differs from the original in that is does not have patch pockets. They would be easy to do if you had a matching twinsets.

Watcha think?



And one more thing...back in March this same retailer gave a few ideas for DIY kids. Bits of tulle on leggings, fabric paint on a tiered dress, and rosettes on cardis. Hmmmmm......